Harry Reid (Nevada)

By Michael SchererThursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

It's been 12 years since Senate majority leader Harry Reid had to fight for his Senate seat in Nevada, which means that a huge percentage of the economically troubled but ever growing state have never had to think too hard about voting for him. (The state boasts about 2.7 million residents, up from just 1.8 million in 1997.) As it stands, most voters in the state don't much like Reid. One recent poll, by Research 2000, found that 54% of likely voters see Reid as an ineffective leader  including 51% of Democrats. In his favor, Reid has deep pockets and no strong Republican challenger. Reid's advisers have promised a costly reintroduction campaign over the next year, and Reid is working hard to shower his home state with federal largesse.